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BackgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF) is common in patients with heart failure resulting in a high prevalence of AF in patients receiving Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) implantation. In patients, unsuitable for transvenous left ventricular (LV)-lead implantation, epicardial LV-lead implantation represents a valuable alternative. Epicardial LV-lead placement can be achieved totally thoracoscopical or via minimally invasive left lateral thoracotomy. In patients with atrial fibrillation, concomitant left atrial appendage (LAA) clipping is feasible via the same access. Therefore, the aim of our study was the analysis of safety and efficacy of epicardial LV lead implantation and concomitant LAA clipping via minimally invasive left-lateral thoracotomy.MethodsBetween December 2019 and March 2022, 8 patients received minimally invasive left atrial LV-lead implantation with concomitant LAA closure using the AtriClip. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was performed to intraoperatively guide and control LAA closure.ResultsMean patients age was 64 ± 11.2 years, 67% were male patients. Minimally invasive left-lateral thoracotomy was used in 6 patients while a totally thoracoscopic approach was performed in 2 cases. Epicardial lead implantation was successfully performed in all patients with good pacing threshold (mean 0.8 ± 0.2 V) and sensing values (10.1 ± 2.3 mV). Posterolateral position of the LV lead was achieved in all patients. Furthermore, successful LAA closure was confirmed during TEE in all patients. No procedure-related complications occurred in any of the patients. Two patients additionally received simultaneous laser lead extraction during the same procedure. Complete lead extraction was achieved in both patients. All patients were extubated in the OR and had an uneventful postoperative course.ConclusionOur study highlights a novel treatment approach for patients with atrial fibrillation and the necessity of epicardial LV leads. Placement of a posterolateral LV lead position with concomitant occlusion of the left atrial appendage via a minimally-invasive left-lateral thoracotomy or even a totally thoracoscopic approach is safe and feasible with superior cosmetic result and complete occlusion of the left atrial appendage.

Combined heart-liver transplant is an emerging option for patients with indications for heart transplantation and otherwise prohibitive hepatic dysfunction. Heart-liver transplantation is particularly relevant for patients with single ventricle physiology who often develop Fontan-associated liver disease and fibrosis. While only performed at a limited number of centers, several approaches to combined heart-liver transplantation have been described. The en bloc technique offers several potential advantages over the traditional sequential technique. Specifically, en bloc heart-liver transplantation may allow improved hemodynamics, decreased bleeding, reduced liver allograft ischemic time, and may result in reduced rates of graft dysfunction. Here we describe our center's en bloc heart-liver procurement technique in detail, with the aim of allowing broader use and standardization of this technique. Supplemental Visual Abstract; http://links.lww.com/TP/C147.

In this study, experiments were carried out during two seasons of 2017, 2018 using twenty colonies which contain four groups of hybrid strains, each strain contains five replicates. The experiments were carried out on four different hybrid local races bees of, Italian hybrid, Carniolan hybrid and Egyptian hybrid from two different sources (Upper Egypt and Alexandria). This study was established at the experimental apiary of the El-Sabaheia Research Station, Alexandria (27.2831North (˚N) and 30.7632 East˚(E). Honey and pollen grains were measured during the two seasons 2017 & 2018. The honey stored in cells of wax combs was measured by using a typical langstroth frame which is sub-divided into square inches by means of wire for twenty colonies during the two seasons 2017and 2018 to denote the total amount of honey in wax cells per season. The obtained data showed that the highest mean of honey yield during the season of 2017 was hybrid Carniolan local 1040.85 (inch²) /colony followed by Egyptian Upper Egypt 1013.65 (inch²), then hybrid Italian local 487.33(inch²)/colony and the lowest mean was Egyptian Alexandria. Meanwhile in the season of 2018 the data showed that the highest mean of honey yield was for the Egyptian Upper Egypt 418.88(inch²) followed by hybrid Italian local 367.84 (inch²) then Egyptian Alexandria 303.16 (inch²) and the lowest mean of honey yield was recorded during the season of 2018 for the hybrid Carniolan local 294.80 (inch²)/colony . The stored pollen in cells of wax combs that has been measured by subdivided langstroth frame in square inches was calculated and the area of stored pollen by workers in the twenty colonies were compared. The results of the current study showed that the collected pollen grains of the selected races during the season of 2017 recorded the highest mean of pollen grains in Egyptian Alexandria 142.77 (inch²)/colony followed by Egyptian upper Egypt 109.31(inch²)/colony then hybrid Carniola local 108.07 (inch²)/colony and the lowest mean of pollen grains was recorded in hybrid Italian local strain 87.82 (inch²)/colony . The highest general mean of pollen grain during season 2018 was recorded in hybrid Italian local 202.84 followed by Egyptian upper Egypt 221.32 then hybrid Carniola local 190.09 (inch²)/colony and the lowest general mean was recorded in Egyptian Alexandria 183.04 (inch²) /colony .

Background and Objectives: In patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing CABG or aortic valve surgery, many surgeons are not willing to open the left atrium to perform a complete left-sided Cox-Maze lesion set. Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is often favored in those patients. We investigated the outcome of patients with isolated pulmonary vein isolation compared to those receiving an extended left atrial (LA) lesion set. Materials and Methods: Between 2003 and 2016, 817 patients received concomitant surgical AF ablation in our institution. A total of 268 patients with paroxysmal AF were treated by surgical ablation concomitant to AVR or CABG. Of those, 86 patients underwent a complete left-sided lesion set, while 182 patients were treated with an isolated pulmonary vein isolation. The primary endpoint was freedom from atrial fibrillation at 12 months’ follow-up. Results: There were no statistically significant differences regarding baseline characteristics. No major ablation-related complications were observed in any of the groups. In the PVI group, three patients (1.6%) had an intraoperative stroke, while two (2.3%) patients experienced a stroke in the LA ablation group (p = 0.98). In-hospital mortality was 3.4% in the PVI group, and 2.8% in the extended LA group (p = 0.33). Freedom from AF at 12 months’ follow-up was 76% in the extended LA ablation group and 70% in the PVI group, showing no statistically significant difference (p = 0.32). Conclusion: Surgical AF ablation concomitant to CABG or AVR in patients with paroxysmal AF is safe and effective. There was no statistically significant difference between the compared lesion sets in terms of freedom from AF, survival or stroke rate after 12 months.

BackgroundMinimally-invasive (MIS) mitral valve (MV) surgery has become standard therapy in many cardiac surgery centers. While femoral arterial perfusion is the preferred cannulation strategy in MIS mitral valve surgery, retrograde arterial perfusion is known to be associated with an increased risk for cerebral atheroembolism, particularly in atherosclerosis patients. Therefore, antegrade perfusion may be beneficial in such cases. This analysis aimed to compare outcomes of antegrade axillary vs. retrograde femoral perfusion in the MIS mitral valve surgery.MethodsThis analysis includes 50 consecutive patients who underwent MIS between 2016 and 2020 using arterial cannulation of right axillary artery (Group A) due to severe aortic arteriosclerosis. Perioperative outcomes of the study group were compared with a historical control group of retrograde femoral perfusion (Group F) which was adjusted for age and gender (n = 50). Primary endpoint of the study was in-hospital mortality and perioperative cerebrovascular events.ResultsPatients in group A had a significantly higher perioperative risk as compared to Group F (EuroSCORE II: 3.9 ± 2.5 vs. 1.6 ± 1.5; p = 0.001; STS-Score: 2.1 ± 1.4 vs. 1.3 ± 0.6; p = 0.023). Cardiopulmonary bypass time (group A: 172 ± 46; group F: 178 ± 51 min; p = 0.627) and duration of surgery (group A: 260 ± 65; group F: 257 ± 69 min; p = 0.870) were similar. However, aortic cross clamp time was significantly shorter in group A as compared to group F (86 ± 20 vs. 111 ± 29 min, p < 0.001). There was no perioperative stroke in either groups. In-hospital mortality was similar in both groups (group A: 1 patient; group F: 0 patients; p = 0.289). In group A, one patient required central aortic repair due to intraoperative aortic dissection. No further cardiovascular events occurred in Group A patients.ConclusionSelective use of antegrade axillary artery perfusion in patients with systemic atherosclerosis shows similar in-hospital outcomes as compared to lower risk patients undergoing retrograde femoral perfusion. Patients with higher perioperative risk and severe atherosclerosis can be safely treated via the minimally invasive approach with antegrade axillary perfusion.

Thermal excitation of the low dimensional silicon film is introduced and an analytical approach is adopted for the solution of the transport equation. In the analysis, the phonon radiative transport equation is converted into an integral form of the Fredholm equation of the second kind. The analytical approach is extended to include the formulation of thermal stresses for the following cases: (i) stress-free at the edges and (ii) one edge is constrained to have maximum stress while the other edge is set to be stress-free. The analytical and numerical results are evaluated for comparisons. The findings demonstrate that both results are in good agreement. The dimensionless temperature rise at the film mid-thickness becomes sharp for small thickness film. The peak value of thermal stress at the film mid-thickness becomes larger as the film thickness is reduced further. Stress waves generated initially are compressive at the film mid-thickness and they become tensile at both ends of the stress-free film, which becomes more apparent as time increases. Two consecutive compressive and tensile stresses are generated at the mid-thickness of the film as the stress boundary condition is changed to the maximum stress at one edge of the film.

INTRODUCTION: Introduction Cholera, an acute diarrheal illness caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with Vibrio cholerae, is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality globally. The occurrence of outbreaks of cholera are difficult to prevent in low and middle-income countries, especially those under armed conflicts. METHODS: This study aimed to describe the characteristics of a cohort of inpatients with cholera in two main hospitals in Taiz and Sana’a, Yemen, between 3(rd) February 2017 and 8(th) December 2017. Patient data were entered into an excel database and analyzed using STATA 16.1. Descriptive summaries of patient’s data were presented as frequencies and percentages. Patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics were compared using the Chi-square test. RESULTS: Preliminary findings from 172 hospitalizations for cholera during the study period include 163 that were severely dehydrated (94.8%). Age, education, hand hygiene, sanitation, water source, stool content and malnutrition were significantly associated with severe dehydration. CONCLUSIONS: This data contributes to a greater understanding of the associated risk factors for the occurrence of the infectious disease in the study region. Future study will analyze the risks for severe dehydration and diarrhea, and the associated healthcare costs.

Severe primary graft dysfunction (PGD) is the leading cause of early postoperative mortality following orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT). Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) has been used as salvage therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes in adult OHT recipients who underwent VA-ECMO for severe PGD. We retrospectively reviewed 899 adult (≥18 years) patients who underwent primary OHT at our institution between 1997 and 2017. Recipients treated with VA-ECMO (19, 2.1%) exhibited a higher incidence of previous cardiac surgery (p = .0220), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (p = .0352), and treatment with a calcium channel blocker (p = .0018) and amiodarone (p = .0148). Cardiopulmonary bypass (p = .0410) and aortic cross-clamp times (p = .0477) were longer in the VA-ECMO cohort and they were more likely to have received postoperative transfusion (p = .0013); intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP, p < .0001), and reoperation for bleeding or tamponade (p < .0001). The 30-day, 1-year, and overall survival after transplantation of non-ECMO patients were 95.9, 88.8, and 67.4%, respectively, compared to 73.7, 57.9, and 47.4%, respectively in the ECMO cohort. Fourteen (73.7%) of the ECMO patients were weaned after a median of 7 days following OHT (range: 1–12 days). Following OHT, VA-ECMO may be a useful salvage therapy for severe PGD and can potentially support the usage of marginal donor hearts.

Aim: to evaluate the effect of cavity design and cusp inclination on fracture resistance of indirect overlay restorations in maxillary 1st premolars. Subjects and Methods: Hundred extracted human maxillary 1st premolars were selected and divided into ten groups; Gr1: control group (CG), Gr2: shoulder design with normal cusp inclination, Gr3 & Gr4: shoulder design with 33° & 22° cusp inclinations (respectively, Gr5: butt joint design with normal cusp inclination, Gr6 & Gr7: butt joint design with 33° & 22° cusp inclinations respectively, Gr8: Anatomical design with normal cusp inclination, Gr9 & Gr10: Anatomical design with 33° & 22° cusp inclinations respectively. All restorations were fabricated indirectly and cemented by RelyX Ultimate adhesive resin cement. Samples were stored for 24 hrs in distilled water at 37°C and then thermocycled for 5000 cycles. Universal testing machine was used to measure fracture loads. Samples were examined for determination of failure mode using a magnifying lens.Results: ANOVA test revealed that the difference between groups was statistically significant (p=0.00). Tukey’s post hoc test revealed no significant difference between Sh/33°CI, Sh/22°CI, B/33°CI, B/22°CI, A/NCI and A/33°CI. Conclusions: The teeth restored with cusp shoulder designs exhibited the highest percentages of restorable fractures (70-90%). Anatomical design presents the highest fracture resistance. However, 70-100% catastrophic failure is suspected. Fracture resistance increases significantly by decreasing cusp inclination of overlay restorations.

Objective: Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation with concomitant Dor plasty is only reported anecdotally. We herein aimed to describe our experience with LVAD and concomitant Dor procedures and describe long-term outcomes of this special subset of heart failure patients. Methods: Between January/2010 and December/2018, 144 patients received LVAD therapy at our institution. Of those, five patients (80% male, 60.4±7.2 years) presented with an apical aneurysm and received concomitant Dor plasty. Apical aneurysms presented diameter between 75 and 98 mm, with one impending rupture. Results: Procedural success was achieved in all patients. No unplanned right ventricular assist device implantation occurred. Furthermore, no acute 30-day mortality was seen. In follow-up, one patient was lost due to intentional disconnection of the driveline. One patient underwent heart transplantation on postoperative day 630. The remaining three patients are still on device with sufficient flow; pump thromboses were successfully managed by lysis therapy in one patient. Conclusion: LVAD implantation with concomitant Dor procedure is feasible, safe, and occasionally performed in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy. Major advantages are prevention of thromboembolism and facilitation of LVAD placement by improving pump stability and warranting midventricular, coaxial alignment of the inflow cannula. In long-term follow-up, no adverse event associated with Dor plasty was observed.

In this note, the dimensions of elliptic and semielliptic tubes in which the capillary rise starts oscillating about its Jurin’s height are determined. Comparisons with the capillary rise in the classical circular and in semicircular tubes are made.

The printing industry has become more development than before, as well as the challenges that related to quality and consistency of colors results, especially with the repetition of printing operations in the packaging field. The using of measurement devices is very important due to the many changes that occur on printing materials in general and on paper and inks in particular. And their were many sources of cellulose plants and other sources of paper manufacturing, as well as the entry of recycling operations in this industry , and also many producing companies are manufacturing paper with different technology in the world.Also there are a several companies producing inks and the development of the manufacture of chemical›s Pigment compounds and sources of oils, resins and other additives.All of that factors made it necessary and to use measurement devices, especially in the production of repeated printing to ensure the stability of results and quality control in each process.In this research we will highlight on the most important types of paper in general and especially the paper that used in this research .And we will print models of the fourteen basic colors of the Pan tone and will make measurements using the spectrophotometer to register and monitor the differences resulting from the different surface finishing of the paper coated - glossy/matt and uncoated.As well as registered the results and values of the difference between the print samples and Pantone.In this research, we will highlight on the colors deviations with the different surface finishing of the paper and fixed the other factors to identify the reasons that lead to the deviation of the results with the use of the same materials and equipment and using of different types of finishing surface of paper.

An analytical approach for the solution of the equation for phonon transport is presented for the combination thin films system. The transient phonon radiative transport model is considered and the combination of the silicon diamond silicon films is accommodated in the analysis. The multi-film system is thermally disturbed from the edges through introducing temperature difference across the combined films. Equivalent equilibrium temperature is considered quantifying the distribution of the phonon intensity in the films. Equivalent equilibrium temperature obtained from the analytical approach is compared with that predicted from the numerical solution. It is found that numerical predictions of equivalent equilibrium temperature agree well with those obtained from the analytical approach. The boundary scattering of phonons at the film edges causes equivalent equilibrium temperature jump at film edges, which becomes apparent in the early heating periods. Phonon scattering in the combined films causes sharp decay of temperature in the films, which is more pronounced in the silicon film than that of the diamond. Authors acknowledge the support of Deanship of Research, KFUPM, for the funded research project # RG181003 and King Abdullah City for Atamic and Renewable Energy (K.A. CARE) during the course of this work. In addition, Ahmad Y. Al-Dweik is thankful to Qatar University for its continuous support and excellent research facilities. Scopus

Thermal response of thin films under pulse heating, resembling laser pulses, is considered and the semi-analytical solution of phonon radiative transport is presented. Temperature pulsation is introduced at the film edge resembling the laser pulses and silicon thin film is used as the film material. Since the film thickness is comparable to the mean free path of silicon, equation for radiative phonon transport is incorporated in the analysis. Temperature findings from the semi-analytical solution are compared to that obtained from the numerical solution. Equivalent equilibrium temperature is introduced to quantify the phonon intensity distribution in the film. It is found that equivalent equilibrium temperature obtained from the semi-analytical solution agrees well with its counterpart obtained from the numerical simulations. The semi-analytical solution correctly predicts the temperature jump at the film edges. The semi-analytical solution reduces the computation efforts significantly in terms of run time and memory size, which are required for the numerical simulations. Temporal distribution of temperature inside the film at various locations does not follow exactly the temperature pulses introduced at one edge of the silicon film.

Background The donor shortage poses a major limitation to use of heart transplantation. Novel strategies such as use of expanded-criteria donors with prolonged ischemia times are being employed to address this need. Recent developments in static hypothermia have allowed for the safe use of cardiac allografts with prolonged ischemic times. Case Report We present the case of a 68-year-old woman with valvular cardiomyopathy refractory to medical therapy who underwent orthotopic heart transplantation with a cardiac allograft exposed to elevated ischemic times. This was achieved through use of the federally approved SherpaPak Cardiac Transport System for transportation of the allograft. This method of static hypothermic organ preservation allowed for a 330-minute total ischemic time, including 283 minutes of storage within the preservation system. The patient tolerated the procedure well and was discharged on postoperative day 10, with excellent graft function and no evidence of rejection 3 months postoperatively. Conclusions Though traditionally ischemic times of 240 minutes or less are recommended for cardiac allografts, we demonstrate, to our knowledge, the longest reported ischemic time of 330 minutes via use of a novel method of static hypothermia for organ preservation. The recipient had an excellent outcome postoperatively, demonstrating the potential for this new organ preservation system to expand the donor pool and improve access and use of heart transplantation.

As the world responds to the global crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic an increasing number of patients are experiencing increased morbidity as a result of multi-organ involvement. Of these, a small proportion will progress to end-stage lung disease, become dialysis dependent, or both. Herein, we describe the first reported case of a successful combined lung and kidney transplantation in a patient with COVID-19. Lung transplantation, isolated or combined with other organs, is feasible and should be considered for select patients impacted by this deadly disease.

Combined heart-liver transplant is an emerging option for patients with indications for heart transplantation and otherwise prohibitive hepatic dysfunction. Heart-liver transplantation is particularly relevant for patients with single ventricle physiology who often develop Fontan-associated liver disease and fibrosis. Although only performed at a limited number of centers, several approaches to combined heart-liver transplantation have been described. The en bloc technique offers several potential advantages over the traditional sequential technique. Specifically, en bloc heart-liver transplantation may allow improved hemodynamics, decreased bleeding, reduced liver allograft ischemic time, and may result in reduced rates of graft dysfunction. Here we describe our center's en bloc heart-liver procurement technique in detail, with the aim of allowing broader use and standardization of this technique.

Heat transfer from a composite prolate spheroid under the third-type boundary condition is investigated using a Legendre series expansion. The model is verified against published data on cooling boiled eggs and also against the asymptotic solution of a composite sphere. The impact of Biot number on the heat transfer in spheroids with realistic dimensions and properties, such as eggs and olives, is investigated. The results are also presented for varying conductivity ratios and fractional volume of the inner part of the spheroid.

Thermal energy transfer in thin films is governed by the phonon transport, and the Fourier heating law fails to predict correct temperature rise because of the assumption of infinite speed of the h...

Background: The maximum conservation of tooth structure and the use of restorative materials with elastic modulus close to the dental structure may promote greater longevity of the tooth/restoration complex. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of cavity design and material type on fracture resistance and failure pattern of molars restored by computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) inlays/onlays. Materials and Methods: In this in vitro study, 55 human maxillary molars were embedded in resin blocks and divided into control group (CG) and five main groups: Group 1: Inlay, Group 2: Conventional onlay/mesiobuccal (MB), Group 3: Conservative onlay/MB, Group 4: Conventional onlay/MB and distobuccal (DB), and Group 5: Conservative onlay/MB and DB. Then, each group was divided into two subgroups: (A) CeraSmart (CS) and (B) Katana Zirconia (KZ). Restorations were cemented by RelyX Ultimate and then thermocycled. The universal testing machine was used to measure fracture loads. Failure was determined using a magnifying lens. Data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA followed by Tukey's post hoc test (P < 0.05). Results: Group 5 showed the highest significant fracture load, whereas the least significant value was recorded in Group 2. KZ recorded higher significant fracture loads than CS in all tested groups. Groups 1, 2, and 3 restored by CS showed lower fracture load than CG, but the difference was insignificant with Group 1. CS restorations showed restorable failure, while unrestorable pattern was predominant in KZ restorations (P < 0.05). Conclusion: KZ inlays and onlays can be used safely in terms of fracture resistance as both have values exceed the physiologic requirements. CS inlays and onlays/MB and DB are of fracture resistance comparable to intact teeth. The use of conservative onlay design with more cusp coverage guarantees better resistance of CS restorations. Being force absorbing material, the predominant failure of teeth restored by CS was restorable.

Anisotropy is a common feature for most of fibrous and porous media. This article reports a new method for measuring the 2D anisotropic permeability of a porous rock utilizing the measurements obtained from the steady-state flow between two concentric cylinders. The mathematical analysis of the experimental data is based on the general solution of the pressure equation derived for the steady-state flow equation for an anisotropic porous medium between two concentric cylinders. The general solution, incorporating the degree of anisotropy and the ratio between inner and outer cylinder radii, is presented in a dimensionless form. The solution shows that pressure distribution between the two cylinders is composed of an isotropic part plus a series representing the contribution of the anisotropy. The solution is validated through the comparison against numerically derived results and the analytical solution of two extreme cases; when the clearance between the two cylinders vanishes, and when the material is isotropic. The validation shows a perfect performance of the proposed solution even in the vicinity of the inner cylinder not like the approximate solutions existing in the literature. The validation also shows that the truncation of the series part has an impact on the results specially in the case of extreme anisotropy. Two experimental procedures 1) basic approach and 2) modified approach, utilizing the “pear” and “tent” charts derived from the general solution, demonstrate how to obtain the principle permeabilities and their directions. The applicability of the proposed experimental techniques is attained through the application of the modified approach over real experimental data from a holed core experiment to estimate anisotropic permeability parameters. The application of the proposed technique and the required modifications for measuring the anisotropy in tight cores are discussed. Also, the relation between the three-dimension anisotropy and the presented plane anisotropy is presented.

Introduction Improvement in preservation and transportation conditions has the potential to enhance organ quality at the time of transplant, optimize patient outcomes, and prolong the acceptable maximum allograft ischemic time. Herein, we describe our initial successful experience with the static hypothermic preservation system (Paragonix) for a donor heart. Our storage period and allograft ischemic time are the longest reported in the literature. Case Report A 68-year-old woman with HF was listed for transplantation. A donor heart was procured from a hospital located 3.5 hours away. The donor allograft was secured and packaged using the SherpaPak™ device (Fig. 1); total storage period was 283 mins. Heart transplantation was performed in standard fashion. AV conduction and normal sinus rhythm were regained after 7 mins of reperfusion. Total ischemic time was 330 mins, including a warm ischemic time of 20 minutes. The recipient CPB time and aortic cross clamp time were 153 and 50 mins, respectively. The patient recovered well and was discharged on postoperative day 10. At three months post-transplant, the patient continues to have excellent graft function without any evidence of rejection. Summary Historically, Shumway et al. initially obtained donor hearts from operating rooms immediately adjacent to a recipient. Over time, donor distance and allograft ischemic times have increased with advances in cardiac preservation. However, long cold ischemic times may induce PGD, cardiac allograft vasculopathy, and contribute to increased length of stay. Maintaining storage temperatures within the narrow range of 4-8°C is optimal for the preservation of high energy phosphate stores and avoids the risk of cold ischemic injury at temperatures below 2°C. By expanding geographic boundaries and total ischemic times, we believe that regulated static hypothermic preservation is a useful addition to a growing armamentarium of devices and strategies to increase access to transplantation.

An exact solution of the problem of fully developed forced convection through semi-elliptic ducts is obtained under constant axial heat flux and peripherally uniform temperature. The solution is validated by comparing the local and average Nusselt numbers with the published approximate and asymptotic values.

Many species of edible mushrooms are known to contain a wide array of compounds with high nutritional and medicinal values. However, these values vary widely among mushroom species because of the wide diversity of compounds with different solubilities to solvents used in extraction. We report here the comparison of antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity against cancer cells in extracts of Pleurotus ostreatus, P. sajor-caju, Agaricus campestris, and A. bisporus from 7 different solvents, including water, ethanol, ethyl acetate, acetone, chloroform, hexane, and petroleum ether. The extracts were analyzed for their antioxidant activities using the % DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazylhydrate) scavenging activity method. Our results revealed that the water extracts exhibited the highest % DPPH scavenging activity in comparison to all other solvent extracts. The highest value was obtained from the water extract of P. sajor-caju (78.1%), and the lowest one was from the hexane extract of A. bisporus (0.8%). In general, extracts from nonpolar solvents exhibited much lower antioxidant activities than those from polar solvents. The cytotoxic effects of these extracts were evaluated using 2 cancer cell lines of larynx carcinoma (HEp-2) and breast carcinoma (MCF-7). When added into Hep-2 cells, the hexane extracts from P. ostreatus, P. sajor-caju, A. bisporus, and A. campestris yielded the highest IC50 values of 1.7 ± 1.56, 2.1 ± 2.82, 4.4 ± 1.71, and 2.2 ± 1.34 μg/mL, respectively, in comparison to all other solvent extracts. Similar IC50 values were obtained when the MCF-2 cancer cells were tested, suggesting that hexane is the preferred solvent to extract the anticancer compounds from these mushrooms. Our results also indicated that extracts from solvents with nonpolar or intermediate polarity were more potent than those with high polarity in their cytotoxicity against cancer cells, and extracts from different mushrooms by the same solvent possessed varied degrees of cytotoxicity.

Objective The impact of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) on left ventricular (LV) mass regression is not well defined. We aimed to measure LV mass regression, changes in LV volumes and dimensions, as well as mitral valve function after TAVI. Methods Eighty patients who underwent TAVI between 2008 and 2010 were studied. Echocardiographic findings before procedure and at 6- and 12-month follow-up were analyzed. Results Aortic valve area increased from 0.71 (0.27) cm2 before procedure to 1.89 (0.64) cm2 at 12 months ( P < 0.001), which was associated with reduction in peak [80.79 (23) vs 16.9 (6.5) mm Hg, P < 0.001] and mean [47.65 (14.2) vs 8.77 (3.29) mm Hg, P < 0.001] gradients. At 1 year, there was a change in LV end-systolic volume [46.12 (36.6) to 48.96 (4.05) mL, P = 0.042] and LV mass [202.4 (92.2) to 183.6 (98.2) g, P = 0.04]. Left ventricular mass index regressed from 130.7 (28.9) to 122.1 (28.9) g/m2 ( P = 0.01). Maximum wall thickness decreased from 1.28 (0.18) to 1.25 (0.17) cm ( P < 0.001). There was no significant change in LV ejection fraction, LV end-systolic and end-diastolic diameters, as well as mitral valve regurgitation. Conclusions Transcatheter aortic valve implantation is associated with significant regression of LV hypertrophy at 1 year. However, this regression was not associated with changes in LV systolic and diastolic functions, size, or changes in mitral valve regurgitation.

A solution of the problem of Poiseuille slip flow through an eccentric cylindrical annulus is obtained in bipolar coordinates. The solution is in excellent agreement with the two published limiting cases of slip flow through concentric annuli and no-slip flow through eccentric annuli. It is shown that for a fixed aspect ratio, fully eccentric channels sustain the maximum average velocity (flow rate) under the same pressure gradient and slip conditions. For a given channel geometry, the average velocity varies linearly with Knudsen number except for small aspect ratio. It is also shown that the extrema of the friction factor Reynolds number product is determined by how this product is defined or scaled.

We study the unsteady heat conduction from a spheroid (prolate or oblate) initially heated and then left to cool in an unbounded medium of constant temperature. We present two solutions of the problem. The first makes use of the spheroidal wave functions as basis. The second, which is numerical, is obtained by expanding the dimensionless temperature in terms of Legendre functions and then solving the resulting set of differential equations in the radial direction using an implicit finite difference scheme. The two solutions are further verified by comparing them to the limiting case of a sphere. We study the effect of the axis ratio on the time development of temperature inside the spheroid and the heat flux across the surface.